Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Tatevik Gyulamiryan, World Languages & Cultures
Document Type
Poster
Event Date
4-12-2024
Abstract
With the objective of understanding why some people turn to religion–specifically Christianity–in the face of hardship, mortality, and grief, I examined the writings and wrestlings of three Spanish Catholic mystics of the 15th and 16th centuries: Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint John of the Cross, and Sister Teresa of Cartagena. Using the model of psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, who proposed that most people follow a similar path through grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, the writings of the abovementioned mystics can be interpreted as their way of processing grief on the journey to acceptance. Through each stage of the model of grief, Kübler-Ross also proposes that there lies an underlying foundation of hope. The writings of Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint John of the Cross, and Sister Teresa of Cartagena reveal that as each mystic wrestled through the stages of grief, their love for God served as the underlying hope that led them to a final stage of acceptance.
Recommended Citation
Repository citation: Matheny, Erin, "Sickly Saints: Religion as a Source of Hope through the Stages of Grief" (2024). 23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024). Paper 59.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/curca_23/59
April 12, 2024. Copyright © 2024 Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
